Storing your food safely

Storing your food safely        

• Keep food covered to protect it from dust, insects, sneezes, etc. Always use a clean cover – never re-use plastic or aluminium wrap.

• Keep potentially hazardous foods such as raw meat and seafood, eggs, ready-to-eat food (e.g. fruit and vegetables) and cooked meals separated in the fridge.

• Always wrap and store cooked foods above raw foods in the fridge.

• Keep potentially hazardous food hot (above 60 °C) or cold (below 5 °C). Check the temperature of your fridge regularly – in hot weather it may need adjusting to keep food cold.

• Arrange food in your fridge so cold air can easily circulate around it. Never overstock your fridge. Fridges work better and are cheaper to run if they are defrosted regularly.

• Pack chilled and frozen food into your fridge or freezer immediately

• Always store leftovers at 5˚C or less

• Throw away leftovers if they've been out of the fridge for more than 4 hours.

• Always check labels on food for date marking and specific storage conditions

• For opened canned food leftovers, follow the manufacturer’s directions for storage and use and take the same precautions as you would for fresh food.  

Understanding date marking on food labels

Date marking and storage instructions on food labels tell us how long a food will last before it becomes unsafe to eat, or its quality deteriorates.

Common foods with ‘use by dates’ include meat, chicken and dairy products.  

When a food is eaten after it’s ‘best before date’, then it will still be safe if it is not damaged, deteriorated or perished, however it may have lost nutritional value and/or quality.

Common 'best before' foods include canned foods, cereals, biscuits, sauces, chocolate, sugar, flour and frozen foods.

‘Baked on’ or ‘Baked for’ dates are commonly used on bread if its shelf life is less than 7 days.